Following concerns raised by the National Farmers Union on police inaction on reports of cane burning, Police say they will follow procedures in investigation and will charge people when there is sufficient evidence.
The National Farmers Union says a cane farmer in Ba lost around 350 tonnes of cane with an estimated gross value of $30,000 due to alleged arson.
They are calling on the Minister for Policing to arrange for regular police patrols, using the K-9 Dog Units, in the cane belts to deter pre-crush burning of cane fields by criminal elements.
They say indiscriminate cane burning has become quite prevalent now even during the official harvesting season and many farmers claim it has risen sharply since the introduction of mechanical harvesters.
The union says this needs to be monitored by the industry institutions and appropriate preventive measures taken to curtail it.
They have also criticised the police for not giving due importance to such cases by requiring the farmer to provide eye - witness evidence, instead of robustly questioning the suspects named by the victim.
The union says each year the industry is losing millions because of the high percentage of stale burnt cane crushed.
They add it is time the Police set up special units in each cane district to promptly investigate all cases of illicit burning of cane.
While responding to questions by fijivillage News, Police say they usually do and will continue to work with stakeholders before the harvesting season starts because they understand the importance of the sugar trade.
However they say that for any report, Police will follow procedures.
